A graphical user interface for real-time spectroscopy: Software architecture for data collection, feature extraction, model development, and real-time testing

Recent advances in Laser-Induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), Raman spectroscopy, and other spectroscopic approaches have increased interest in the application of spectroscopy to detection of explosives along with other chemical-signature identification tasks. However most existing spectroscopic data collection techniques require manual interaction with data files including data manipulation using multiple pieces of software and different file formats, time-consuming feature-selection, and model re-generation. Not only do these steps reduce analytic efficiency and slow the progress of research in spectroscopy, but they also inhibit real-time use of the systems by end-users. In this work we present a graphical user interface designed to increase efficiency for spectroscopic data collection, feature selection, classifier development, and testing. We present a software architecture that provides enough flexibility to handle data from many different spectroscopic sensors. We also discuss feature-level and model-level software components that allow for the features and classification approaches to be manipulated interactively, and we present a simple and intuitive testing screen suitable for an end user to make decisions in the field with out requiring a "human in the loop" for processing. © 2009 SPIE.